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Dental Implants and Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a disease that causes weakening of bones and makes them fragile. It has a very negative impact on the health of the patient and the quality of life. The density of the bone reduces in osteoporosis and makes the person more susceptible to develop bone fractures even under mild stressful activities like mere bending or turning sides on bed.

Women are at a higher risk of developing osteoporosis after menopause sets in. An osteoporotic patient is asked to refrain from sudden or strenuous activities and carry out all work in a slow and controlled manner.

Dental implants are of the most modern options for replacement of missing teeth. The installation of dental implants may require some considerable amount of time, the benefits that they provide is profound and worth every single penny you had spent.

In the Journal of International Dentistry, a study was published that was carried out in women with osteoporosis to find out which type of tooth replacement option suited them the most or made them feel more comfortable than before. About 237 women were selected for this study and were asked to fill in a questionnaire that had 23 questions in total. The questions were framed to assess the effects of dental prosthesis on social, professional, emotional and sexual facets of their lives.

There were four groups of women- one group had removable denture, another had fixed partial denture, another with dental implants and the last group of women consisted of those who had not replaced their lost teeth at all. When the answers to the questionnaire were compared, it was found that the women with dental implants were the ones who felt maximally benefitted due to the prostheses in their social and sexual facets of life. The next in line was the group with fixed partial denture followed by those who had removable denture.

The reason how dental implants increased the quality of life in osteoporotic women owes to the some strong benefits of dental implants. First of all, dental implants look absolutely natural and hence provide a great deal of aesthetic appeal.

It becomes extremely comfortable to chew with the help of implants. This is because dental implants mimic the tooth structure almost completely. In case of removable prostheses, the whole unit takes the load of chewing forces and transfers them to the teeth or bone that provides support to the prostheses. In case of dental implants, only the implant and the surrounding bone bears the chewing forces just like what happens in a natural tooth.

When one loses a tooth, the surrounding bone starts wearing away gradually. The dental implants hold the jawbone together and prevent it from wearing off. This property of dental implants is of paramount importance when it comes to conservation of the remaining jawbone in a woman who suffers from osteoporosis. In such a case, every tiniest section of bone needs to be conserved to preserve the integrity of the skeletal system.

Henceforth, the research has given a new ray of hope for osteoporotic women through tooth replacement by dental implants.